Jul 29th, 2010

LAKE WALES – A new flock of Kindergarten chicks are ready to start school as Hillcrest Hawks on Aug. 23.

More than 60 Hillcrest families have been taking part in a four-day Kindergarten Week program to help their children get a jump-start on beginning school.

“K Week is a chance for new Kindergarten students to become comfortable with the classroom experience,” explained Lynda Norton, the Kindergarten Support teacher at Hillcrest.

During the K Week program at Hillcrest – and other elementary schools in the Lake Wales Charter Schools system – students learn about their new school. Students take part in typical daily activities that will be part of the Kindergarten program, and parents have a chance to address concerns or ask questions about their child’s transition to school.

At Hillcrest, this week’s K Week program mixed some “serious” school work with fun and games. Students met Principal Damien Moses, Assistant Principal Debbie Hunt and other important members of the Hillcrest Hawks team. They began learning the basics, like how to line up and how to write their names on school projects. They also learned how to work as a team and how to follow directions, when they went outside to play with several large parachutes.

All four LWCS elementary schools host K Week events for new Kindergarten students and their parents. Other Kindergarten Support activities take place throughout the year.

PHOTO #1: New Hillcrest Hawks play a game that practices colors and following directions, as they skip around a giant parachute.

PHOTO #2: A group of new Kindergarten friends works together to roll up a parachute.

PHOTO #3: New Hillcrest students learn to listen and watch during K Week activities at the school.